Not many individuals can confess to getting an annoying painful cold    sore, so I will sacrifice myself, take the bullet and admit that I have gotten them in my life. Yes, the thought of it is gross and we’ve been taught that it’s in the “Ewwwww” category.

So why am I confessing this embarrassing story? Because I have found something that really works to put a halt to a cold sore before it flares up and gives you Angelina Jolie-like lips.

So here’s what happened to me.. I rarely get cold sores. I would say that I might get one every few years. A fever or extreme stress is usually the cause of a flare up. The last few months have been jam packed with family, friends, events, work, more work and exhaustion. It finally caught up to me last week and I felt my body overheating and a possible fever starting. To top it off.. my lips were feeling tingly and irritated.

Ruh Roh!!!! Nooooooo…. Not a cold sore! Stress can cause it to flare up more but I couldn’t help but stress about not stressing. I quickly remembered that a friend of mine suffered from frequent cold sores, so I picked up the phone and began my interrogation. She prompted me to take 4000 mg of Lysine for the next few days. After some extensive online research, I also took some aspirin, iced my lips to calm any inflammation and avoided nuts and chocolate because they may increase the flare up due to their high arginine content. 

The next morning, I woke up and still felt a little discomfort but nothing was visible. Once again, I popped 4000 mg of Lysine. By the end of the day…. it was gone! What the hell is this stuff? Honestly, the Lysine somehow halted the flare up and disappeared.

It has been over 4 days now, and still nothing! And that is why I’m sharing this with you. If I can help just a few people avoid the discomfort, then my embarrassment is totally worth it.

If you want to learn more about cold sores and how to prevent them, feel free to continue and read more…

What is a cold sore?

Cold sores are usually caused by herpes virus, which can lay dormant in the body and becomes active later when something triggers it. There is no cure for cold sores, but there are remedies you can use that will reduce the severity and frequency of them. Cold sores may appear after colds, fevers, exposure to the sun, stress, during menstruation, or for no apparent reason. Generally it is felt that anything that compromises the immune system may trigger the cold sores, such as infection, cancer or any illness.

What can I do when I feel a cold sore starting?

The sooner you catch it, the better. As soon as you feel one coming along, you should start your prevention treatment.

Here are a few helpful suggestions:

• AVOID Arginine-filled foods like peanuts, chocolate, wheat, oats and peas. Arginine is an essential amino acid that feeds the virus causing more of a flare up. It’s like feeding a fire.
• DO Eat Lysine-filled foods like yogurt, turkey and fish. Lysine is another essential amino acid that smothers arginine, making it less available to cause a flare up. So fill up on Arginine!
• Do take a B complex. England researchers found that most people that suffered from cold sores were low in B-12.
• Do take an aspirin or pain killer for relief
• Do apply ice directly on your lips. Fever blisters hate ice.
• Do apply an OTC topical treatment if the flare up begins
• Do apply sunscreen on your lips because the sun may cause it to worsen
• Do meditate and avoid stressful situations.

There is no cure for a fever blister, but here are ways to keep it at bay and lessen the traumatic event.

Many sites have written against the efficacy of Lysine and its lack of scientific data to back it, but from experience I am a true believer. Lysine is very safe, so why not try it anyway?

If you have any other suggestions, we would love to hear from you!

Love,

Ghada